Oil-burning apparatus



D'ec. 16, 1930; HfA. TIFFANY 1,784,853

OIL BIRNING APPARATUS Filed Nov. 5, 1925 4 sheesf-sheet' 1 l I INVENTOR" I v By Attorneys,

IDec, 16, 1930. Y|| A, TlFFAY 1,784,853

OIL BURNING APPARATUS Filed Nov. v5, 1923 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 De@n 16, 1930.

Wi'll H. A. TIFFANY oIL BURNING APPARATUS Fil'ed Nov. 5, 1923 INVNTOR .By Attornys,

Patented Dee. 1e, 1930 PATENT OFFICE HOMER ANDREW TIFFANY, OF CLIFTON, NEW JERSEY oli-BURNING APPARATUS Application ined November 5, 1923. serial No. 672,896.

This inventionV relates to apparatus for burning oil, and isparticularly directed to burners for u-se 1n connection with house heating plants, power plants, etc. The inventionv while primarlly designed for burning kerosene is adapted for 'other hydrocarbons.

' An important feature of the invention is to provide means for uniformly and continuously feeding oil to the combustion chamber so that the heat may be constantly and regularly maintained unless intentionally varied. Another feature of the invention is directed to an automatic operation of the apparatus so that the feed will automatically cease if there is a failure in the operation due to accidental'causes. The apparatus as applied to a house heating plant is designed to require practically no attention and to furnish a uniform degree of heat. In the pre- 2Q ,ferred form of construction it is adapted to be inserted through the ash pit door of the boiler, or other heating unit, with its controlling means lying outside of the furnace,

and it is .adapted to be supplied with fuel 2" from a tank or other source of supply located al1 appropriate remote distance from the furnace.

The invention includes numerous other features which will be hereinafter more fully described and pointed out in the claims.

Referring to the drawings:

Figure 1 is a diametrical section of the bur-ner provided by my invention.

Fig. 2 is a horizontal section on 272 in Figure l.

Fig. 3 is a similar section on the line 3-3 in Figure 1. Fig. is a plan of the complete device.

Fig. 5 is an elevation of the cut-off mechanism for the fuel.

Fig. 6 is a section taken on the -line 6-6 in Fig. 4.

Fig. 7 is a horizontal section showing the cut-off valve, knife switch, and pilot control.

Fig. 8 is a section onthe line 8-,-8 in Fig. 7

Fig. Q is a plan of the valve of Fig. 8.

the line Figs. 10 and 11 are detailsof the top of the A admirably adapted for steaming purposes.

fuel vaporizer.

Fig. 12 is a front elevation of a furnace showing the burner installed.

.Referring first to Figures l to 3. let A indicate what may be termed the tire pot or combustion chamber having a heat resisting lining of any suitable refractory. lVithin this chamber the combustion of the oil takes place. the. oil being supplied in finely attenuated or vaporized condition. This is secured inthe present vstructure by the use of a centrifugal nozzle or fan C which is rapidly rotated. and takes the oil from a 6U central chamber. l) whirling at high speed by means of a series of blades E. and throwing it otf in finely divided condition by centrifugal force. The fau or nozzle@ is .prefy erably coned,`its central point being its high, 65 est so that oil from the lcentral chamber will flow by gravity as well as by centrifugal force toward the periphery of the fan where it is talcennp by the blades, and after acquiring a suitable momentum is thrown rapidly outward in a direction which is substantially tangential to thefan.

As the mixture leaves the blades it encounters a large volume of air passing up through a large passage G in the center of 75 the combustion chamber as indicated by the arr o ws in Figure 1. vA suitable means for lmaintammg the column of air in motion through the passage G is a propeller fan H A Whlch is shown as located in the passage at S0 the lower part thereof. the fan being driven in a manner hereafter to be described. The

construction of the vaporizing mechanism thus described produces in practice a ver complete combustion of the fuel and one which is not liable to any danger of clogging, but is well adapted for continuous operation without attention for long periods of time. The shape of the flame during combustion depends upon the amount of oil which is being fed, and ranges from a circular sheet of flame, well within the fire pot, to an extended mushroom shaped iame, the periphery of which impinges on the refractory wall of the combustion chamber and is deiected upwardly so that when it reaches the tube stem of the'boiler it covers a wide area and is The rotation ofthe nozzle, and incidentally v of the propeller fan, may advantageously be therein is a spiral rod L.

about 3500 revolutions per minute and requires no adjustment for varying quantities of fuel. The size of the flamedepends almost entirely upon the quantity of fuel fed to the vaporizing nozzle, and I have devised a simple and practical means for thus feeding the fuel, which means will now be described.

As best shown in Figure 1, at the bottom of the casting I which in general forms the support for the apparatus, is a chamber J into which fuel oil is introduced through a pipe K. Mounted with its lower end in the chamber J and extending below the oil level This rod is not necessarily movable, it being shown as fixed iii a supporting sleeve or bracket M which is screwed into the upper part of the chamber J. Preferably it is retained against rotation by a set screw N. The spiral rod L extendsupwardly to a point within the chamber D of the nozzle C. Surrounding the spiral rod L is a sleeve O which also extends below the oil level in the chamber J and up to a point approximating the top of the rod. .The sleeve O is connected with the spraying nozzle C and rotates therewith. The efl'ect of this construction when the nozzle is rotated is that oil is caused to travel up the spiral rod to the center chamber D of the nozzle in sufficient quantities to supply themaximum amounts required by the capacity of the nozzle. The quantity is adjustable`by a needle valve P in the supply pipe K, or any other means may be adopted for this purpose.

fr17m' lieu of a stationary rod L, the latter may be made rotatable with the fan or by independent means, and the tube O in this case is preferablyY held stationary, a spiral 'rod acting in the manner of a screw conveyor.

The nozzle C and tube O may be rotated in anyapproved way. That shown comprises a spiral gear Q rotated at high speed by any suitable form of motor, which gear meshes `with a pinion gear R fixed upon or made a part ofa sleeve S on the upper part of which is secured a sleeve T upon the top of which the nozzle.C is secured. The sleeve S rests at its lower end upon a ball thrust bearing U and there is preferably also introduced between the sleeve S and the sleeve O a third sleeve- V which is .fixed at its lower end tothe part M in the oil chamber J.

Provision is made for the constant lubrication of the worin and worm wheel Q, R by forming an oil chamber W in the casting I and maintaining a sufficiently high level of the lubricant to make a constant bath for these parts, and also the ball bearing U. A cover X is provided forthe top of this chamber.

I find it desirable to provide means for.

vertent running of the nozzle C without ignition, or, in case any of the fuel escapes ignition. To effect this I form a pocket Y at the bottom of the combustion chamber by constructing a flange Z surrounding the passage G, this pocket serving to catch any excess or leakage of oil, the latter being dra-ined off through a pipe A as best shown in Figure 1. Should any of the fuel oil drop downwardly through the opening Gr it is caught in a basin B, is led out of the furnace by a pipe C', and' either recovered in a special receptacle or utilized to operate special stopping mechanism for the burner as hereinafter described.

Means are provided for igniting the burner such as the pilot nozzle D which forms the termination of a gas supply pipe E which may be connected up with the ordinary fuel gas supply or with any other combustible gas.

The burner as a whole rests upon supporting pipes or tubes F', G', and is also provided with a central stanchion I-I which rests on the bottom of the ash pit floor.

As thus described the burner provided by the present invention comprises an efficient unit which is capable of being availed of in any connection where it is found suitable.

My invention, however, also includes other mechanism for controlling its operation so as to insure a regular and uniform supply of heat under given conditions, which supply may, however, be modified to correspond to changes in temperature, and my invention also provides mechanism by which in case of failure of igniting the gas supply the operation of the burner may be automatically stopped, and other devices whereby safety of operation will be insured.

A supply 4tank such as J (Fig. 4) is provided for the fuel oil, and this tank may be of sufficiently small capacity to conform to the Underwriters requirements or municipal ordinances, and is located in the cellar of the building to be heated. It may be utilized as the main source of supply, or may be connected with anoutside tank and fed through a pipe K. It is preferably elevated and provided witli a drain valve at the bottom (not shown), and also a suitable ventL at its top.

Fuel is taken from the tank J through a pipe M', a globe or other valve N being introduced into the pipe near the tank so ...that the latter may be isolated for the purpose of cleaning the strainer 0r for other reasons. In the preferred construction, the pipe M leads to a cut-off valve O, the purpose of which will be hereinafter described, and from the cut-off valve O to a float chamber P by means of a pipe Q whichl is connected with the lower part of the float chamber as best shown in Fig. 4. The feed pipe K leading to the fuel chamber J of the burner is connected to the Vfloat chamber as indicated in Figs. .4 and 6.` Within the float chamber is a float R which operates a valve bucket V which is hung upon an actuating S having a seat T', the valve being closed when a proper level is reached in the float chamber. The float chamber in turn maintains the level of the` fuel inthe chamber J of the burner so that the feed ofthe burner is uniform for a valve P. f

My invention provides means whereby if for any reason such as the extinguishment of the pilot light or the flame of the burner, fuel is fed to the. burner, the feed of fuel will be automatically stopped. So also if the level of the fuel in the float chamber P gets too high automatic stopping will occur.

In the preferred construction of the i11- vention this automatic stopping is controlled by the escaping fluid through the pipe C from the burner or through an overflow pipe U fromthe ioat chamber. Both of these pipes lead to points immediately above a given adjustment of -the arm W (see Fig. 5) which is pivoted at X to a switch box Y to be described. The arm W has a. short arm A2 to which is pivoted a curved link B2 pulled upwardly by a spring C2. The arrangement of pivots is such that when the arm W is tilted to its upper position the spring C2 will hold it therein against the weight of the bucket V. When the weight of the bucket is increased by the increment of fuel oil through the pipe C or the pipe U', or both, as the case may be, the arm WV is moved downwardly thus tilting the shaft D2 upon which the arm is mounted and moving an arm E2 upwardly. The upward movement of the arm E2 causes a similar movement of an arm F2 connected with the arm E2 by a link G2, thereby turning the shaft H2 of the cut-off valve O (best shown in Figs. 7 to 9). This valve comprises a casing having an inlet passage I2 connected I' with the pipe M leading from the reservoir,

and anV outlet passage J 2 leading to the float chamber. The'upper part of the casing has a llatportion K2 through which the shaft H2 extends, the flat portion having two ports L2 'and M2 respectively which are controlled by a valve member'N2 keyed to the shaft H2 as shown in Fig. 7. The details ofthe ports and valve are illustrated in Figs. Sand 9. The valve instead of resting upon the flat surface K2 rests upon three studs O2, one of which is perforated to form the port L2. The valve. N2 has corresponding ports P2, Q2

Vwhich register with the ports L2, M2 when the valve is open. When the bucket becomes overweighted by the overflow of fuel, however, the valve is moved toits closed position in which the port L2 is covered, thus pre.-

venting any further flow from the reservoir I preferably also stop the main driving motor R2 which actuates the gear Q through the medium of a shaft S2, thus stopping the upward feed of the oil in the burner.-

The preferred construction for accomplishing this result comprises al switch located in a switch boX Y and having terminals T2 which during running of the motor are connected by a knife blade U2 which is mounted upon the shaft D2 and when this shaft is rotated by the overweighing of the bucket V, the switch is opened and the main motor circuit (not shown) is broken. The construction of arm W', link-B2, and spring C2 causes the switch to act as a snap switch during the opening of the circuit. Preferably also, as shown,the construction is such as to produce the same snap action when the switch is closed, the spring C2 acting to move the arm 1V quickly dowmvard'o' upward depending upon whetherthe pivot of the link B2 lies to one side or the other of the axis X of the The invention also provides for a meansA supply. Vithin the casing and between the two pipes is a rotary valve A3 having a bore B3 which controls the iow from Y2 to E. The valve AS is mounted upon a shaft C3 land is driven bya. motor D3 whichis thermostatically controlled in any approved manner, the arrangement being such that the motor is actuated to move a half a turn when the thermostatic device operates. This half turn of the motor will turn on the main supply of .gflis for a. short time and then-close the sup- P y- Provision is made, however, for a. constant supply of gas to the pilot, this being accomplished in the present construction by a bypass E3 around the valve A3, the capacity'of the by-pass being adjustable by means of the plug valve F3; e

This arrangement assures that the pilot light shall always bekept burning with a. low llame which is sutlicient to maintain the burning of the fuel. Should the burner be stopped, and by reason of the thermostatic control the burner againv turned on, then the size of the pilot light is greatly increased by reason of the main supply of gas `being fed through the valve for a predetermined period of time, thus insuring a proper ignition of the fuel. 'It will be'understood that the main motor R2 is thermostatically controlled to stop and start the fuel elevating device. y

While I have shown and described one form of the complete invention it will be i understood that many changes may be Iliade therein without departing froml the spirit of the invention.

What I claim is:

1. A burner for liquid fuel comprising a fuel chamber, a fixed spiral member extending upwardly from said chamber, a'surrounding tube, a nozzle at the top of said tube, and

means for rotating the tube.

2. A burner for liquid fuel comprising a fuel chamber, a ixed spiral member extend- -ing upwardly fromrsaid chalnber, a surrounding tube, a nozzle at the top of said tube, a fan connected lWith said tube below said nozzle, and means for driving said tube.

3. A burner for liquid fuel comprising a fuel chamber, a iixed spiral member extending within said chamber and above the same, a tubular member surrounding said spiral member, a centrifugal fuel fan eonnectedwith said tubular member, a fan also connected with said tubular member, and means for rotating said tubular member.

4. In combination, a receiving and discharging member, an open-ended tube fixedly secured to said member, means for rotatably supporting said member and tube in a substantially vertical position, a screw conveyor, fixed against rotation, extendiig through said tube tosaid member, and n'ieans to rotate said tube and member.

5. In combination, a receiving and discharging member, an open-ended tube fixedly secured to said member, means for rotatably supporting said member and tube in a substantially Vertical position, a screw conveyor, fixed against rotation, extending along the interior of said tube toward said member, and means to rotate said tube and member.

In witness whereof I have hereunto signed my name.

HOMER ANDREW TIFFANY. 

